Chris Evert in awe of Monica Puig as Olympics gold medalist successfully completes Ironman World Championship in sub-14 hours time

Chris Evert was highly impressed by Monica Puig after she completed her first Ironman contest at the 2024 World Championship in Nice, France. The Puerto Rican completed the race in under 14 hours.

Puig has switched to triathlons and marathons since retiring from tennis in 2022. Most recognized for her improbable gold medal run at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Puig recently competed at the 2024 Ironman World Championship on September 22. This was her first foray into the tournament made for those with extreme endurance and fitness.

The race consisted of a 3.8-kilometer (2.3 miles) swim, 180.2-kilometer (111.9 miles) biking, and 42.2-kilometer (26.2 miles) course. Monica Puig competed in the race alongside 1139 other athletes and completed the race in 13 hours and 57 minutes, finishing a remarkable 772 position. The proud Puerto Rican shared a clip of her finishing the race and being pronounced an "Ironman."

“Monica, you are an IRONMAN!” 5 words that I’ve waited to hear for a while. Recap to come, but wow…. What a feeling," Puig wrote on X.

The post caught the attention of American tennis legend Chris Evert. The 18-time Grand Slam champion was in awe of Puig's accomplishment and wrote a congratulatory message on X.

"Monica.... IRONMAN!!!!!!that is incredible! what an accomplishment #awestruck," Evert wrote.

Monica Puig qualified for the 2024 World Championship after finishing fourth in her age group at an Ironman event in Puerto Rico in March 2024. The 30-year-old competed in the race alongside her husband, Nathan Rakitt, and completed the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and half-marathon run in 5 hours and 42 minutes.

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"This was bigger than me" - Monica Puig celebrates success at Ironman World Championship 2024

Monica Puig (Source: Getty)

After a grueling race at the Ironman World Championship 2024, Monica Puig reminisced about her success. The former World No. 27 took to Instagram to thank all those who supported her and gave fans an insight into her thought process through the nearly 14-hour race course.

Puig recalled questioning her decision to compete in the World Championship during the race and even contemplated quitting. However, she braved the demons and took up the challenge head-on thanks to the support and encouragement from her husband, Nathan, mother, Astrid Puig, and team members.

"13 hours and 57 minutes of every kind of emotion. The day was long, the course was hard, I think I questioned myself so many times. I wanted to quit so many times. But I’m grateful to @nrakitt for pushing me on when I didn’t want to. For @astridpuig1 for supporting me and encouraging me every step of the way," Monica Puig wrote.

"And my team @monicarodriguezocasio @danielramoslecosh @lecoshendurance for believing in me and in this challenge that we had before us and for preparing me despite a super challenging schedule. This was bigger than me."

Puig called the Ironman World Championship a celebration of incredible women who participated in the competition this year and felt proud to be amongst them on the tracks of Nice.

"The Ironman World Championship was a celebration of more than 1,400 women who showed so much grit and grace out there. I feel so lucky to be a part of this world and to have shared the course with all these incredible humans," she concluded.

Before the Ironman, Puig competed in several marathons. After she retired from tennis in 2022, she ran the New York Marathon and added Boston, London, and Chicago to her resume.